June Gloom

The month began by having to officially leave our pad in Bondi, leaving me temporarily homeless. Luckilly, my good friends Rory and Suzi offered the guest room at their place for me to crash while looking for a homestead. The month also started pretty rainy, leaving me to search for average apartments in cold, wet weather.
But that was all put in perspective on the morning of June 13, where I received a horrible text and voice message from my best friend Mike. The news was that our good buddy Mark Steiman had passed away from a car accident while travelling in Europe. It's still strange to write, very hard to believe even two months down the road. Mark was a great guy with such a unique view on life. Some called him an old soul, we jokingly referred to him as old guy, but he was such a well-centered person who understood where he has been and where he was going. He was such a smart, talented and focused individual, but never hesitated to make us all crack up with his wit and humor. It was the little things that I loved hanging out with Mark: when we would go over his place after Taco Tuesday and watch weird Spike Jonze videos or when we went to the Toots and the Maytals concert....so many great mini moments that you remember. Not suprisingly, Mark got into Yale Business School last year and I remember writing to him about how awesome I thought it was for him, such a great honor. Our last IM chat was so typical: we talked about his travels through Europe, where he was headed next, watching the Euro tourney, concerts, etc. A few days later, he was gone. I'm sure it will last for a long, long time, but it's hard for me to go for a long period without thinking of him in some way....usually it makes me smile, then laugh.
While in zombie state for a few days, I knew Mark wouldn't want his friends to remember him sadly and stay depressed. He would want us to remember the good times over a beer. It was tough not to be with mutual friends, but some great Sydney people were there to cheer me up.
While not much consolation from the shock of mid-June gloom, the month did end on a high note as I was able to land an apartment, back in Bondi. Hey, what's good is good, right?
Here's a hilarious pic of Stei, wearing one of his patented shirts that I'm sure we poked fun at. But this is vintage Mark, and makes me laugh every time.

Cinco de Mayo

Of course they don't know that wonderful holiday here....hell, even the Mexican restautants didn't know what it was! What is it, anyway. Well, that didn't stop us from celebrating....aye Dios mio, mi gato es frio!

What I wasn't celebrating in May was the continuous apartment search. When going through randoms, it really can be unreliable. No suprise there, but Murphy's Law took on a whole new meaning in May. Bone dry, not a square to spare. Dissapointing, but that story has a happy ending.

As our last month at 48 Fletcher Street, let me say that our pad was as sweet as you can imagine: big house, nice backyard patio with views of Bondi and steps away from pretty much everything in Bondi/Tamarama. My roomies Ryan and Andrew were great hosts and their dogs, Sasha and Jackson, properly welcomed me every night by slobbering all over. Just like a good wife. Not sure if I'll find myself in another house of that caliber here, but appreciated it during its time.

Had to go through my old text messages to remember that Canon took me down to the nation's capital in May. Canberra doesn't have a whole lot going for itself, but it is interesting scenery and always good to see something new. Is that enough of a sales pitch, Canberra Tourism Board?! Kinda reminded me of New Mexico or Utah in landscape, and a slow college town in atmosphere. Go Kevin 07, our PM has the same name as me!

Oh, and of course there was no Memorial Day celebrations. But don't you worry, 4th of July is around the corner. Here's a pic of 48 Fletcher, btw.